1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a cover to keep washing dry which is suitable for all existing rotary clothes line airers.
2. Description of Related Art
In searches it was found that there were many examples of prior art for the current application, which arises from the need to protect washed clothes from wetting by further rainfall while drying on an outdoor line. In addition, laundry hung outside to dry is subject to degradation as a result of accumulated dirt on the line and by soiling due to birds, which also is obviated by the provision of a cover. Despite the problems of outdoor drying it is generally felt that there is a superior quality to laundry dried in open air. Due to restrictions on space for many households, the rotary airer type of washing line is extremely popular, and lends itself well to the superimposition of a waterproof cover that will prevent ingress of falling water onto the clothes hung upon the airer. Many working housewives find that in the British climate they cannot predict whether the laundry put out in the morning will actually dry by the evening, or will be wetter than before. Then they are forced either remove the washing while wet or leave it in place uncertain whether the next day will be dry enough.
Clothing dried in direct sunlight is also subject to bleaching due to the action of ultra violet rays, a problem that the present invention seeks to ameliorate. The main alternative to drying laundry outdoors is to use a tumble drier or similar electrically heated device to dry the laundry indoors. Apart from the drawbacks inherent in this method of drying laundry, ecological and economic factors now weigh against this method of drying, in that the cost of electricity is increasing quickly, and huge national economies could be achieved if this method were replaced by the method using the current invention. The fossil fuels spent in generation would be preserved and the pollution produced thereby would also be avoided.
The existing similar published Patent applications are frequently limited in scope, impractical, clumsy in use or expensive to manufacture. The number of applicants who have been deterred from pursuing the idea due to prior art is extremely high, many applications lapsing as soon as the searches are received. The majority of applications provide for a rigid structure to be mounted upon the existing airer involving additional weight, expense and complexity. They tend to entrain air within the canopy and skirt causing condensation and poor drying ability, are often unstable even in moderate winds. For these reasons, many are likely to cause the central shaft of the rotary airer to either deform or detach itself from its base. Without the ability of the air to circulate, the clothes are unable to dry as quickly or as freshly as in free air. Furthermore the materials selected are often designed to maximize the insulation of the laundry in order to increase the rapidity of the drying process with the resultant problem that the washing is as bleached by the effect of ultra violet light as it would be in the open air.
Many applications apply only to three-armed rotary airers, while others apply only to four-armed rotary airers. Frequently the application will provide for a structure to be superimposed onto the central shaft or the arms of the airer and of these inventions some apply to a convex structure which drains to the peripheral edge or surface of the invention while others apply to concave structures which drain to the centre of the invention. In several cases the cover is arranged as a series of panels to allow air to flow through, while others have vents or large central apertures in conjunction with a separate hood or baffle to prevent rain falling on the laundry. Several different means of attachment are featured, the majority of which depend on location of the radial arms within the corners of the cover, and external lateral surfaces, sheets or skirts in a wide variety of forms are provided in the majority of applications.
In the recently terminated application GB2369045 DAY there is presented a centrally raised tent structure located at its centre on top of an additional pole extension and at the extremities of the radial arms of the airer itself. As with the present application and sundry other filed Patent Applications the cover forms a convex upper surface. However, in the current application, the cover is applied directly to the extremities of the radial arms and secured by means of a drawstring or strings with or without the provision of elastic reinforcement, and features a skirt with a weighted hem, whereas DAY provides for apertures in the canopy to accommodate special end pieces for the arms of the airer amongst other distinguishing features.
GB2109678 FEILDEN provides for a concave cape with waterproof sides attached at its corners in either square or triangular form but without the provision of a drawstring means to allow for variations in size of existing airers, while GB2352168 COLLINS provides for a rigid structure to bear the weight of the cover, attached above the airer itself, being square in plan and formed of heavyweight waterproof material and tethered to the ground. GB2369562 ROOKE also provides for a rigid structure supervening above the existing airer frame. GB2061719 PENROSE provides for a convex polygonal cover attached at the ends of the radial arms without provision for any lateral protection from the rain or means for drainage. In GB2336527 MARTIN there is provided a cover inducing negative pressure to cause airflow through the laundry, but which is formed of an individually attached cover and impermeable side panels to create the “venturi effect.” This configuration is likely to suffer or fail in conditions of high wind due to the wind resistance inherent in its design. GB2376626 ROUSE provides for a circular transparent cover attached by pegs to the distal lines of the rotary airer whereas in practice such a cover would require to be tensioned around the ends of the radial arms. These are a few more relevant applications of many discovered in the Prior Art. It is the aim of the present invention to provide a solution to the problem that so many different configurations have attempted to address, and that is simple both to manufacture and to use.